PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2015-11-05 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • The War on Christmas Cups (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • The Starbucks coffee chain's use of special holiday cups during the November-December timeframe is an annual tradition that dates to 1997. Each year since then, the coffee chain has unveiled new designs which typically feature traditional winter and Christmas holiday symbols such as snowmen, ornaments, and reindeer: When Starbucks unveiled their 2015 holiday cup, many customers were surprised to see that it sported a solid red design that featured no symbols other than the standard green-and-white Starbucks logo. In a press release issued on 22 October 2015, Starbucks explained the reasons behind the design choice: While Starbucks said that its 2015 holiday cup was given a plain red look in order to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories, others claimed that the coffee chain's plain red cup was a sign of Christian cleansing: Rumors about Starbucks' supposed anti-Christian attitude garnered attention when a Facebook video about them went viral: The narrator in the above-displayed video asserts that Starbucks employees are banned from saying Merry Christmas and that the coffee chain removed its holiday symbols because they hate Jesus. However, there is no evidence to support either of these claims, and the Religion News Service's Laura Turner noted that no one other than the video's narrator (and possibly not even him) seemed genuinely upset over the supposed controversy: In fact, while Starbucks 2015 Holiday Cup doesn't bear any Christmas symbols, the chain still sells Christmas Blend coffee, offers gift cards with holiday symbols, and even vends Advent calendars: It should also be noted that Starbucks could not have removed any overtly Christian symbols from their cups, because they never used them to begin with. Starbucks' holiday cups typically feature general winter holiday symbols such as snowmen, carolers, and ornaments, which (although they may be associated with Christmas) are either secular in origin or not exclusively Christian: It's true that the 2015 Starbucks Holiday Cup features a plain red design that bears no holiday-related artwork, but while some people may be disappointed that Starbucks chose not to include any symbols associated with Christmas this year, that is not evidence of that the chain is engaging in Christian cleansing or hates Jesus. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url